Unexpected Laughter
by sierrakrystalblack
Summary: Three days after Ron left, Harry and Hermione are still broken. They finally take their first steps to healing. One-shot. H/Hr 3 Please Read & Review!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I'm pretty sure J.K. Rowling does. :D**

* * *

**Unexpected Laughter**

* * *

It was a dark night, darker than usual. The trees all blended as a black mess and the sky was covered with clouds that made the sky a dark shade of grey and indigo. There were no stars, and the moon was hidden under the foreboding clouds. There was a certain chill in the air, the kind that could be felt on the bones. Underneath the the onyx trees, stood a tattered old tent. No one can see it; no one except for the ones who lived in it. Sitting in front of the small tent, was a figure. He sat hunched over, his eyes closed. In front of him, was a dying fire. It was a representation of the hope he held inside.

Suddenly, there was a sniffle that couldd be heard inside. His eyes snapped open, revealing tired emerald eyes. He gave a sigh, after another sniffle made its way out the tent. He took a rock, that sat between his legs and threw it into the infinite darkness of the forest. Harry was angry, angry that Ron abandoned him once again. He had anticipated this action from his fleeting friend, but it still hurt when he left. This was the red head's last chance. There was no turning back now, not for Ron. He would have nowhere and no one to return to.

She was sobbing now. It pained him to know how hurt Hermione felt. She held a more-than-friendly affection for Ron, he knew that. This was the first time he's abandoned her, and the first time always hurts the most. Every time the raven haired boy saw her tear stained face, the anger grew inside of him. Harry had given her a chance to walk away, but she blatantly refused. She was proud of her loyalty, and he was glad of it.

The sobbing was starting to get out of control. She was starting to hiccough. He has never heard her this upset. It's been three tense days since Weasley left, and he's never heard her cry this hard. He was starting to get worried about her. He didn't want her to go on with him, if it was breaking her heart. He grabbed another rock and stood up. He threw the stone into the heart of the forest, with a force that carried his frustrations. Silence consumed him, and he realized she had done the muffliato spell. She has realized that he could hear her. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took one moment of hesitation before going inside.

His green eyes searched for the distraught girl. He found her curled up in a ball, her back to him and her face buried under her bushy, brown hair. He saw her feature shaking, and he started to shuffle slowly towards her. He reached out a hand to her, even though he was about a meter away. He slowly took little steps towards her, as if she was a lion ready to snap. The muffliato spell came down, probably due to her haywire emotions, and a sudden loud sob escaped her. The sudden, loud noise, made Harry jump. The hand that reached out to her, smacked his chest, as if to calm down his rapid heart beat. Once he was calm, he rolled his eyes at his stupidity, and took a large step towards his broken friend. He placed his hand on her back.

"Hermione?" He said softly. Her back stiffened and half her body whirled around to face him. Her red, swollen eyes were wide and fearful and an invasion of red covered her face. She bit her lips nervously.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for you to hear." She croaked out. He shook his head and helped her sit up.

"I, I think that you should leave." He told her gently. Her mouth dropped and she looked affronted. She started to look really angry, and he realized the fatality of his words. He shook his head in defence.

"No! No, it's not because of you or your crying. Well, it is, but not like that. What I mean to say is, that I'm glad you chose to stay, but this is breaking your heart. I don't want you to have to give up your family and your heart, just for me." He blurted out. She took a deep breath, but before she could utter a word, Harry continued.

"I just want you to be safe and happy. You deserve that, at the very least, not this. I'm sorry our friendship has led you to this. Having absolutely nothing, except perhaps a death sentence." He said softly. He looked up to her and his eyes showed the sincerity of his words. Hermione, overwhelmed with emotions, captured Harry in a massive hug and broke down, even more.

Actually seeing Hermione cry, and not just the aftermath, clenched his heart. Her tears were infectious, and before he knew it, his tears came barreling down. He wrapped his arms around her and his hands began furiously wiping the tears away. Hermione could feel his tugging, and she slowly pulled away from him. She started hiccoughing again, as she tried to settle down. After a deep breath she shakily broke the silence.

"Are you okay?" she asked between hiccoughs. Harry looked away, hiding his tears and failing to hide his deep blush.

"Yeah," he coughed. "I'm okay, eyes are just sweating." He finished with final wipe of his face. She stared at him, and after a beat, she burst out into laughter. Her laugh, was apparently, infectious too, because he joined her after a while. They just kept on laughing, even if it wasn't funny anymore, because it just felt good to laugh again. They laughed so hard, they had to clench their stomachs from the pain. They both started to settle down, and they sighed. Dark cinnamon eyes met forest green eyes. They stared at each other smiling. A real smile, something neither have done for what seemed like forever. Hermione was the first one to look away. She looked at his hand and reached for it. She gave it a gentle squeeze, before giving him a small, timid smile.

"Thank you, Harry, for giving me a choice. I know I haven't been myself lately and that I may look a bit distressed." She started softly. Harry gave a snort, when she said 'a bit distressed.' She slapped his arm playfully, still smiling. She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so I pretty much broke down." She gave in. He nodded his head in approval.

"I'm sorry if I made you worry, but I don't regret any of my decisions." She continued.

"I will never leave your side Harry, especially not when you need me the most. I would never give up on you. We will beat Riddle, and we will live through it all. We have to, do you understand Harry? We have to and we will." She stated firmly. He shook his head in disagreement.

"It's not that simple Hermione. Most of what Ron said was true. We solve one thing, just to be given ten more puzzles to solve. We are nowhere near finding any of the other Horcrux, or finding a way to destroy them." He argued.

"Even if, by some miracle we do find all the Horcrux and destroy them- and these are hidden by Riddle himself and protected by some powerful magic- Riddle still has to die. He is powerful and smart. He has lived a long time and learned much more than us. How are we supposed to beat him? How am I, a seventeen year old kid, who has only known about wizardry for six and a half years, supposed to beat a Dark Lord. A Dark Lord that defeated many great wizards, Dumbledore being one of them." He finished. Hermione grimaced, because he was right, but she wasn't going to let him know that.

"I don't care about his portfolio. You defeated him as a baby, and then beat him four times after. You have me to help you find these stupid, annoying, indestructible Horcrux. We do know how to destroy them, and if we can't get a hold of basilisk venom or the Gryffindor sword, we'll go to the last resort. We know how many there are. There are six, and we've already destroyed two of them, and have one of them. That's almost half way! We also have a general idea of what they could be. Harry, you cannot give up, because that's the only sure way of knowing we're defeated." She argued intensely. Harry growled in frustration. She just raised an eyebrow at his immature behaviour. Harry ran his hands through his midnight black hair.

"Yeah, okay, you're right." He conceded. She gave him a triumphant smile.

"I can't give up, but you," he pointed at her. "You don't have to go through this hellish life with me." He pointed out. She groaned in annoyance. It was his turn to raise his eyebrows.

"Yes, I know I don't HAVE to, but I WANT to. Besides, how on earth would you be able to solve anything without me?" She added cheekily. He gave her an astonished look. His face was in shock.

"What?" She said chuckling at his expression. He shook his head in amazement.

"You just, you just made a joke!" He exclaimed. She shoved him teasingly and he broke down into laughter. For the second time that night, they laughed their hearts out. Amidst the laughter, they started to grow tired. As the laughter died down, their eyes started to droop. Harry was the first to fall asleep, and Hermione gave his hand one last squeeze before falling asleep cuddled to his side. This was the first time either fell asleep smiling.

* * *

**Author's note:**

** Hi guys! So, I originally made this as a chapter to a story, but I couldn't think of a plot that I liked, so I made this into a one-shot instead. I really like how this 'chapter' turned out, and I didn't want to waste it, so I posted it. Thank you for reading, and please review. I want to thank all my reviewers; I really appreciate your comments and suggestions!**


End file.
